This invention relates generally to an improved debit card and related calling system for providing controlled telephone service system access with secure, low cost and low maintenance debit cards, and more particularly to a debit card system for securely distributing disposable debit cards, with identification indicia preprinted thereon, for use in conjunction with an access system allowing use of a telephone service system. The invention furthermore particularly concerns providing improved disposable debit cards that are fully securable from the point of manufacture to the point of sale to user. The invention also relates to corresponding methodologies throughout.
Coin operated public pay telephones have long permitted access to either one or both of local and long distance telephone service systems. Typically, until relatively recently, such service systems and pay phones were part of either an integrated system or a system comprised of related companies. Such telephones have, however, presented difficulties that have recently led to significant developments in the industry, among other major changes occasioned by modern day long distance network competition and by competition in other services areas.
From a telephone company's perspective, pay telephones require a sturdy, secure mechanical device capable of preventing theft and withstanding associated vandalism. They also require manpower expense and an inherent safety risk in that company employees must regularly visit and remove cash from each such pay telephone. From a user's standpoint, coin operated pay telephones are entirely useless if the user is without the required coins, or unless some operator intervention or emergency (911) or other type of toll free number is involved. Furthermore, long distance calls often require more change than most people ordinarily can conveniently carry. At the same time, pay telephones adequately sophisticated to handle paper currency, are much more expensive to own and operate than coin operated models, and pose still greater theft and safety issues.
Consequently, there came a time whenever competing telephone companies began to employ credit card type calling systems. Such systems were intended to relieve the telephone companies from maintaining and servicing pay telephones. They also were intended to conveniently allow the user to make calls from any telephone and bill the charge to an established account simply by keying in the account number. Such a number typically may include the user's telephone number plus a personal identification number (PIN), entered at an appropriate prompt.
At least one major drawback and limitation of such "calling cards," however, is that they require that a user have an account with the telephone company. International travellers, college students, and others who might not have a residence or business telephone account with a telephone company normally would not even have access to such forms of calling cards. They would be forced, therefore, to use conventional pay telephones with the aforementioned drawbacks.
Additionally, such calling cards lack the convenience of cash, with respect to both the telephone company and the user. The company must establish, bill, and maintain a great number of accounts. The user incurs a monthly debt, after also having the time lag of establishing an account.
Furthermore, because many calling cards are issued on a long term basis (eg., multiples of years), the identifying PIN number cannot be printed on the card without taking a substantial risk of loss upon a card's theft or accidental loss. The burden of securing a card's PIN number (usually through memorization) is thus very inconveniently put upon the user.
More recently, the telecommunications industry has sought to address various of the above problems through use of debit card systems. Such systems typically employ debit cards, purchased by a user through one of various distribution methods, and having a preset debit limit recorded (or, in other words, a positive available amount credited) at a central system server (such as comprising a specialized computerized telephone switching and control system). After purchase, the user accesses the telephone system through such central system server. During such process, the server prompts the user for debit card identification and charges the calling fees against the preset debit limit. Once the debit limit is met, the card is no longer of any value and may be discarded.
There are at least several advantages with such an approach. For example, no account need be maintained, and the user need not necessarily remember any PIN number. While a user needs cash or its equivalent to initially purchase the debit cards, one would be able to use paper currency, such as typical of many conventional vending machines. Such machines, in turn, may be generally better secured than conventional pay phones, and thus, greatly reduce the risk of vandalism to public telephones.
Debit card systems may generally be placed in one of two categories. First, card based systems program or incorporate operation intelligence directly into or onto the card itself, typically employing a magnetic strip, optical scan area, or electronic chip disposed on the surface of the card. Such media contain the card's identification information and, importantly, its debit limit. Upon access to a central system server, the user may insert the debit card into a requisite specialized phone receptacle and place his call. The server then contemporaneously charges the call against the card's debit limit as recorded on the card itself. After the user completes a call, if the card's preset or modified limit has not been reached, the user may retrieve the card for use with subsequent calls.
As will be readily apparent from the foregoing, card based systems have the tremendous expense and disadvantage of requiring special telephones capable of reading and recording information on the card. Such card based systems also have the major inherent disadvantage of being system specific. In other words, one phone system set up to handle magnetic media based cards would not be able to handle, for example, optical media based cards, and vice versa.
In contrast, network based debit systems typically are intended to be used with any conventional telephone. Such systems rely on centrally recorded card identification and debit limit information. Identification information is literally indicated on the card itself. When a user accesses the central system server, he responds to a prompt seeking such information by, for example, keying or speaking. When the system validates the card's identification, it allows the user to make a call, charging the card's debit limit as with card based systems, but keeping the updated information within the central system rather than on the card.
One major difficulty with present network based systems is security of card identification information. While both card based and network based systems are subject to card theft, network based systems are furthermore particularly vulnerable in that card identification indicia is typically visible, allowing theft by sight without physically taking the cards. Still other systems may be vulnerable to internal or source fraud, if "hot" (i.e., activated) cards or account information about same, are stolen without any system safeguards for handling such contingencies.
Such problems create a strong incentive to use more costly card based systems to overcome the problems with conventional pay telephones and calling card systems, as well as a disincentive to expand the use of debit cards associated with telephone systems beyond telephone billing systems.